Nursery World - A strategic approach

Now that the Union has remained intact, politicians will soon be heading to their respective party conferences.

If the past year's discussion is anything to go by, we can expect very little in the way of vision or
strategy. Here are the four strategic messages that I want to hear.The first is a simple restatement of the purpose of childcare, which is inevitably twofold: to support child development, particularly of the least well off, and to enable parents who choose to work to do so. Too many debates attempt to disaggregate these objectives.

Accepting my first message necessitates a greater focus on quality. So to message two: a restatement of our commitment to graduate-led childcare. In the short term, politicians should find additional investment to restart the Graduate Leader Fund. Over time, we need to review funding structures to shift towards a system more like New Zealand that funds providers in bands according to quality.

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